EX ERC IS ES 4C 145

be found in medicine, where an initial health issue can cause a series of steps leading
to the death of a patient. However, each of these kinds of cases has been meticulously
researched and is backed by reliable evidence.
S u m m ary o f W eak Inductive A rgu m en t F allacies
Generalization fallacies occur when an argument relies on a mistaken use of the prin
ciples behind making a generalization.
8. Rigid application of a generalization: W hen a generalization or rule is inap
propriately applied to the case at hand. The fallacy results from the mistaken
belief that a generalization or a rule is universal (meaning it has no exceptions).
9. H asty generalization: A generalization created on the basis of a few instances.
10. Com position: There are two forms of the fallacy: (l) the mistaken transfer of
an attribute of the individual parts of an object to the object as a whole; and (2)
the mistaken transfer of an attribute of the individual members of a class to the
class itself
11. Division: There are two forms of the fallacy: (l) the mistaken transfer of an
attribute of an object as a whole to the individual parts of the objectj and (2) the
mistaken transfer of an attribute of a class to the individual members of the class.
12. Biased sample: An argument that uses a nonrepresentative sample as support
for a statistical claim about an entire population.
A false cause fallacy occurs when a causal connection is assumed to exist between
two events when none actually exists, or when the assumed causal connection is
unlikely to exist.
13. Post hoc: The fallacy occurs from the mistaken assumption that just because
one event occurred before another event, the first event must have caused the
second event.
14. Slippery slope: An argument that attempts to connect a series of occurrences
such that the first link in a chain leads directly to a second link, and so on, until
a final unwanted situation is said to be the inevitable result.

EXERCISES 4C
I. D eterm ine whether each statem ent is true or false.
1. A biased sample occurs when a sample leaves out members of the population
that are referred to in the conclusion.
Answer: True
2. An argument that relies on a small sample that is unlikely to represent the popu
lation commits the fallacy of hasty generalization.
3. To rigidly apply an otherwise acceptable generalization, even in the face of
known and understood exceptions, is to commit the fallacy of composition.
146 CHAPTER 4 IN FORMAL FALLACIES

4. A slippery slope fallacy concerns a long-term pattern that is noticed after the
fact.
5. One way the fallacy of division can occur is by the mistaken transfer of an attri
bute of an object as a whole to the individual parts of the object.
6. Afalse cause fallacy occurs when a causal connection is assumed to exist between
two events when none actually exists.
7. A coincidence results from the accidental or chance connection between two
events.
8. An argument that attempts to make a final event the inevitable outcome of an
initial act is called post hoc.
i t 9. A special form of the post hoc fallacy is the common cause fallacy which occurs
when one event is believed to cause a second event, when in fact both events are
the result of a coincidence.
10. Demonstrating that a true causal relationship exists requires being able to isolate
onefactor as the cause and eliminating all otherpossible explanations for the effect.
II. Read the following passages. If an argum ent com m its a weak inductive argu
m ent fallacy, then identify the specific fallacy. If a passage does not contain a fallacy,
then answer "No fallacy.” Explain your answers.
1. Ninety-five percent of a sample of registered Republicans in one state district
said that they will vote for the Republican nominee for Congress from their
district. So, we can expect that all the Republican nominees in the state will get
around 95% of the total votes this fall.
Answer: Biased sample. An argument that uses a nonrepresentative sample as support
for a statistical claim about an entire population.
2. That ambulance didn’t even stop for the red light. It went zooming right through!
And the police didn’t even give the driver a citation. If I did that, I would get a
citation. Life just isn’t fair.
3. My horoscope said I would meet someone new. Today my company hired a really
good-looking salesperson and we will be working closely together. Now do you
see why I read my horoscope every day?
4. For the last 50 years, whenever the American League won the World Series,
there was a recession that year, but when the National League won, stock prices
went up. There must be some unknown economic force at work that we don’t
understand.
5. There were six cases of food poisoning from undercooked burgers at that chain of
fast-food restaurants. This caused the company to change its method of cooking
burgers.
6. Each grain of sand is hard, so your sand castle will be hard.
 EX ERC IS ES 4C 147

7. Our experiment tested the effect of multivitamins on the common cold. We stud
ied 1000 people who began to experience the onset of typical cold symptoms.
Daily multivitamins were given to 500 randomly selected patients in the group,
while the other 500 were told not to take any multivitamins. The results show
that there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in
either the severity of the cold symptoms or the length of time for the symptoms
to subside. We conclude that multivitamins have no noticeable effect on the
common cold.
8. I met two people from that state, and they were both rude. There must be some
thing in the drinking water of that state that makes all the people from there so
rude.
# 9. If you don’t clean your room, then the dirt and dust will build up. Before you
know it, bacteria will grow. W hatever you touch in your room will then spread
bacteria, which will contaminate the entire house. We will all wind up in the
hospital, terminally ill.
10. On seven different occasions it rained the day after I washed my car. I washed
my car today, so take your umbrella with you tomorrow.
11. W hen I need to travel to another city I have to buy my own airplane ticket. The
president of the United States has Air Force One to take him wherever he wants
to go, and he doesn’t have to pay a penny. Therefore, I should be afforded the
same opportunity.
12. She is very beautiful, so she must have a lovely appendix.
# 1 3 . All the people in my fraternity think that hazing is not a problem. So, I’m sure
that the entire student population agrees with us on this issue.
14. W henever I step in the shower, either my phone rings or someone knocks on the
door. I’ll have to change my bathing habits, I suppose.
15. Humans need fresh fruit and raw vegetables in order to get their daily supply of
vitamins. So, you should start feeding your newborn baby some fresh fruit and
raw vegetables every day.
16. If you drop out of one course this semester, you will have less than a full-time
load. It will take you longer to graduate. It will delay your getting a job for another
year, meaning that you won’t get promoted as fast as others who graduated on
time. So, you can expect to lose approximately $100,000 during your lifetime.
17. The coroner determined that the cause of death was an overdose of toxic drugs.
No evidence of foul play was found. In addition, there was no suicide note. We
conclude that the death was an accident.
18. My bill at the restaurant was $4.29.1played the number 429 on the lottery today,
and it came up. Therefore, it was my destiny to play that number today and win.
19. I don’t recommend that you eat at that restaurant. I did not like the breakfast I
had there last week. I’m sure that all of their meals are of poor quality.
148 CHAPTER 4 IN FORMAL FALLACIES

20. I know for a fact that the acrylic paints that Vincent van Gogh used to create
this portrait were very inexpensive. So even though his painting is hanging in a
museum, it can’t be very expensive.
21. Every football player at Crestfallen High School can run two miles in under 15
minutes, so all the students at that school must be in great physical condition.
22. I had two station wagons, and they were both lemons. Thus, I’m sure that
there is something in the design of station wagons that makes them all terrible
vehicles.
23. I read that cars in the United States consume more gasoline each year than
trucks. I guess that means that my car uses more gasoline each year than that
tractor trailer over there.
24. Chicken eggs do not weigh very much. So if I eat an omelet made from fifty eggs,
it will not weigh very much.
25. A random and representative sample of registered voters shows that 70% are
opposed to Proposition 13 that will be on the upcoming ballot. Given this, we
project that the proposition will fail to get enough votes to pass.
26. I read that the city’s closed circuit video surveillance cameras that are positioned
to watch for traffic violations are being stolen. Apparently, the thieves can sell
the electronic equipment to unscrupulous companies. The city then had the
bright idea to install a second set of cameras to watch the ones observing the
traffic. This led to the thieves stealing the second set of cameras so they wouldn’t
be seen stealing the traffic ones. It’s obvious where this is going. Pretty soon the
city will have to install a third set, and then a fourth set, and then have someone
stationed 24 hours a day watching each camera. In the end, this will bankrupt
the city.
27. In one of my dreams last week, I saw a car wreck, but I was not in the car. I
just heard that my aunt had a fender-bender in the m all’s parking lot. This
shows that dreams are videos sent from the future to warn us of dangers in
the present.
28. Every time I bet on our team, they lose. And every time I don’t bet, they win. It
follows that my betting on them causes them to lose.
29. A large survey of SUV owners revealed that 80% believe that global warming is
a hoax intended to get them to give up their vehicles. This shows that the vast
majority of Americans don’t believe that global warming is real.
30. W hen I get on a bus, it’s usually first come, first served. In other words, if a seat is
available, you take it. But they have a sign on the bus that asks people to give up
their seats for older people, people with infirmities, or someone who is pregnant.
I think it should be the same for everyone. If I’m lucky enough to get a seat, why
should I have to give it up?
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31. Since the 1950s, our society has become increasingly more violent. It is obvious
what has caused this to happen. Check the facts. As the number of television
sets bought by consumers rose every year, so did crime.
32. You forgot to water your plants for 3 weeks and now they are dead. Clearly, the
lack of water caused their untimely demise.
33. My car goes from zero to sixty miles an hour in under 5 seconds, so the wind
shield wipers must be able to clean the front window in under 5 seconds, too.
34. In physics class we learned that elementary particles have little or no mass. My
$150 physics textbook is made up of elementary particles, thus it has little or no
mass.
35. I waited 30 minutes for a bus to work, and because of that I was late. The bus
system in this city is completely unreliable.
36. Sending arms to Middle East militants trying to overthrow their governments
is a crazy idea. Those militants will most likely force the collapse of the current
regime and then take over power. But the militants are not capable of running
a complex society. This will lead to instability in the region, and then a clash of
cultures. Soon we will be forced to send in troops. Russia, China, and India will
get involved. This will lead to World War III.
37. She began making $100,000 the year after she graduated from college, and when
she took an IQ_test, she scored 20 points higher than when she was in high school.
See, I told you: Money makes people smarter.
38. Four of us ate at that restaurant last night. Three of us had lasagna, and one had
a salad. The three who had lasagna all got severe stomach aches, but not the one
who had salad. We all had the same kind of appetizers and dessert. It follows
that the lasagna probably caused the stomach aches.
39. Each page of the encyclopedia weighs practically nothing, so the encyclopedia
weighs practically nothing.
40. The other day my sister helped an old lady cross the street, and today she won
$100 on the lottery. See, I told you that doing good deeds brings you luck.
41. According to the census data, the population of that city is 10% atheists. My
Uncle Sam lives there, so he must be 10% atheist.
42. My daughter was listening to some music on her headphones, and I asked her
to play it for me. She said it was called “EDM,” which means electronic dance
music. I heard one song and asked her to stop it because it was repetitive and
monotonous. I imagine all EDM sounds the same.
43. If you major in humanities, then you will stop taking math and science courses.
By the time you graduate you will be locked out of all the high-paying jobs. You
will have to take jobs that you could have gotten with a high-school diploma. You
150 CHAP TE R 4 INFORMAL FALLACIES

won’t be able to contribute to an IRA, and when you finally retire, your Social
Security checks will not be enough to survive.
44. Every time the barometer drops below 30, it rains. It has some mysterious power
over the weather, I guess.
45. You have chosen great paint colors; therefore, your house will look great.
46. On two different occasions, I saw our next-door neighbor wash his new car and
the next day it rained. So, if you want to make sure that it won’t rain for your
picnic tomorrow, then you’d better hope our neighbor doesn’t wash his car today.
47. All it takes is one. If you throw your empty can on the sidewalk, then someone
else will either see you do it or else think it is okay. Especially kids. Pretty soon
people will throw glass and plastic bottles. Then there will be all kinds of trash.
The sanitation department will not be able to keep up with the level of garbage
in the streets. The rat population will grow, and when that happens, bubonic
plague will not be far behind.
48. A veterinarian found that 70% of the German shepherd dogs he examined had a
hip displacement before they reached 10 years of age. Given this, probably 70%
of all dogs will have a hip displacement before they reach 10 years of age.
49. The house is poorly constructed, so the material it is made of must be poorly
constructed as well.
50. I bought a new car, and a week later I was fired. That proves the car is a jinx, so
I’m getting rid of it.

D. FA LLA C IES OF U N W A R R A N TED A SSU M P T IO N

OR DIV ERSIO N
U n w arran ted A ssu m p tio n
Begging th e question Fallacies of unwarranted assumption exhibit a special kind of reasoning error: They
In one type, the fallacy assume the truth of some unproved or questionable claim. The fallacies become appar
occurs w hen a premise
is simply reworded ent when the assumptions and lack of support are exposed, thus revealing the weak
in the conclusion. In points of the argument.
a second type, called
circular reasoning, a set
of statem ents seem to
15. BEGGING THE QUESTION
support each other w ith There are several types of the fallacy of begging the question (“petitio principii,” mean
no clear beginning or end ing assume at the beginning). In one type, the fallacy occurs when a premise is simply
point. In a third type, reworded in the conclusion. In a second type, called circular reasoning, a set of state
the argum ent assumes ments seem to support each other with no clear beginning or end point. In a third type,
certain key information the argument assumes certain key information that may be controversial or is not
th at may be controversial
or is not supported by supported by facts. Cases of begging the question can go unnoticed because they often
facts. sound convincing. This should not be surprising; in some cases, the conclusion is